Honda aiming for 100% hybrid vehicles by 2040

Japanese car giant Honda said on Friday (Apr 23) that it would aim to have electric and fuel cell vehicles account for 100 per cent of all sales by 2040 to promote climate goals.

The automaker’s newly appointed CEO Toshihiro Mibe described the target as “challenging” but said the firm wanted to “set high goals”.

Honda has said it wants the ratio of electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles sold in major markets to hit 40 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2035, before hitting 100 per cent globally by 2040.

It has unveiled 5 trillion yen (US$46 billion) in investments in its research and development to reach the goals.

The announcement comes a day after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that Japan would aim to cut emissions 46 per cent by 2030, significantly more than previously pledged. The new target revised a previous goal of cutting emissions by 26 per cent from 2013 levels by 2030.

The pledge came with international focus on climate change as United States President Joe Biden hosts a summit to encourage stronger action on warming and faster moves towards carbon neutrality.